


What Melodies We Make

by GrandmaMan



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: F/M, Fluff and Angst, Inspired by Music, M/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Romance, Slice of Life
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-12-15
Updated: 2016-12-22
Packaged: 2018-09-08 17:52:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 15,923
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8855158
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GrandmaMan/pseuds/GrandmaMan
Summary: The lives of seven individuals and how they get tangled up together in a story of life, love, anger, insecurity, and music.A school AU revolving around certain music pieces. Keith is losing inspiration. Lance is average in a sea full of greatness. Shiro is struggling with keeping strength. Allura fights through loss. Hunk wants to stop being afraid. Pidge is alone and doesn't know how not to be. And Coran struggles with being relied upon.





	1. Frustrations

**Author's Note:**

> I'll probably edit the summary if I ever know where this story is going hahaha. Enjoy, y'all.
> 
> DISCLAIMER: I know eff-all about the technicalities of music.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Keith hates losing.  
> Lance does too.
> 
> A chapter on inner frustrations and losing things.

It was 10:47 AM and Keith was late. He knew that if he wasn't such an asset to the school's reputation, he'd be axed for sure.

He still felt sleepy.

Keith stretched his arms, grabbed the home-made snacks his brother made for him, then his bag set on the living room table before stepping foot outside of his house. Honestly, if it weren't for his brother's incredible skill in making him feel guilty, he probably wouldn't attend school today. He sighs.

Before leaving his bed and dealing with the world, the first thing Keith ever does is look out his window to check the weather. But as he was already running late, he didn't get to relish in knowing what the weather was as he usually did.

_ Eh. I'm already late. Might as well. _

He stays for a while outside the front gate of his home and looks up at the sky.

It was sunny and bright. And although it may surprise the people around him, it is actually Keith's favorite weather.

He had just come back last night from a piano competition abroad, hence the lateness, so the sun felt a little disorienting but usually, he would still love to bask under the sun. Usually.

But lately, he hasn't been feeling quite himself. And instead of trying to confront the issue, he just shakes his head wildly whenever he starts thinking about it. He does this mostly because whenever he thinks about the funk he’s in, the more frustrated he feels so he’d rather ignore it than deal with the frustration.

_ That's not a good way to address issues that bother you, Keith. _ He can already hear Shiro's voice; can see him with his crossed arms and raised brow.

Keith looks up at the sky again and stretches his arm up as if he was a celestial being out to pluck the sun right out of the sky.

_I'm just tired._ He says to himself. _I've just been practicing too much is all._

"Is everything okay?"

Keith jumps a little at the sound of someone's voice. He puts his hand down, and looks to his right. A middle-aged man, one of his neighbors he thinks, is looking at him with concern in his eyes. From the looks of it, it seems he has been looking at Keith, with his arm held high in the air and a blank look on his face, for a while now.

"Ah, yeah,” Keith coughs. “Yeah. Everything's fine, sir. Thank you." Keith mumbles as his neighbor gives him an inquisitive look. The man still looks at him for three seconds before he just nods and tells him to take care then leaves. As soon as the man is out of sight, Keith palms his face in a mixture of disappointment and embarrassment.

"I really need to stop getting too deep into my own head in public." Keith shakes his head as he starts walking to school. _I also really need to stop talking to myself out loud in public spaces_ , he thinks to himself.

At the very least, that little incident distracted him enough to not remember the funk he was in the entire way to school.

Bikes passed him by. People were rushing to their destinations. And Keith was in the middle of it all. Subconscious bliss was found in the blankness of his mind. The sounds of the morning commute set as both the background music and white noise.

\---

The students and the teacher all applaud Keith after finishing his rendition of Polonaise Op. 53 in A flat major. Keith bows twice in response to the awed applause of his fellow classmates and his teacher before asking if he could head to the restroom.

"Oh, of course. Of course, Keith. Wonderful performance, once again, by the way." Keith nods then heads out of the classroom just as the teacher tells the class what was great about Keith's performance. He usually asked to leave the classroom before this part since Keith hated hearing whatever they had to say about his performance.

Keith attends a very prestigious school called Altea School of Arts, best known for their devotion to, you guessed it, the arts. The school has consistently been producing great young artists and Keith was one of them. The students in the school are primarily members of the elite which adds to the "prestigious-ness" of the school. What with the expensive and high quality equipment and multitudes upon multitudes of rooms, it makes sense that the students have to be rich to attend.

But not all students of the school are inherently rich. Case in point: Keith, himself. He has a scholarship which he managed to get all because of his amazing wonderful brother. It was a miracle considering he was kicked out for a series of “misconduct” offenses in his last school. The last offense was when he called his classmate a filthy ignorant baboon who has not had a single independent thought in his entire life before he proceeded to beat the living crap out of not only this classmate, but also three other people. Good times.

Speaking of amazing wonderful brother, here the devil comes himself.

"Keith." They were still standing a little to the right of the door to Keith's classroom.

Keith raises an eyebrow in acknowledgment as a response.

"You were late." Keith squints at Shiro in exasperation. Leave it to his brother to go out of his way just to lovingly scold him. On the other hand, Shiro, used to being on the receiving end of Keith's exasperation, just raises a brow.

"Really, Shiro. You're lucky I even came."

"Hmm. I guess so. Oh, and I also saw your little performance there."

"Please don't tell me you're here to give me an evaluation."

"No, don't worry. You had great technique. Smooth, clean." Keith just shrugs and looks away. He doesn't really know what to do whenever someone personally says something good about his performances. That's the reason he left the classroom in the first place. "BUT!"

Keith raised his eyes to the ceiling. "Oh, here we go."

"Based on your performance, I was wondering. Are you alright?" Keith, befuddled by the concerned tone and the question, looks back at Shiro with confusion in his eyes.

"What? Why?" Keith is even more confused and worried as he sees something like concern in the depths of Shiro's eyes. In response to Keith's question, Shiro shrugs and looks out to one of the windows at the hallway.

"Maybe it's nothing. I don't know. You just--never mind. I just want you to know--" Shiro places his hands on Keith's shoulders and looks at him with a small smile. "--that if there's anything bothering you, you know you can talk to me, alright?"

Keith and Shiro, for all their brotherly banter, have never been afraid to express that they care for one another. Ever since the day Keith found out that Shiro was going to be his brother, he has never been shy when it comes to expressing almost anything to his brother.

Keith raises an eyebrow at Shiro, crosses his arm, and smiles at the corner of one side of his lips, too. "Yeah, Shi-shi."

Shiro rolls his eyes in response to the nickname and pats Keith in the back intentionally harder than normal. "Ow, you little—“

"Gotta go, little Keithy. Now you do your thing. Go pee or whatever. And don’t you DARE cut class."

"Wha-How do you even--"

"Keith."

"I already know what the lesson's about. Plus, the teacher and I have some sort of unspoken agreement, anyway."

"Keith."

"Ugh. Fine."

"Good. Off I go. Remember to wait for me before heading home, alright?"

"Yep. See you." Shiro nods and walks away back to the direction he came from. And now Keith was alone. Keith slowly walks towards the restroom, looking out windows, thinking, breathing, wondering, worrying. Keith contemplated briefly to cut class, but as Shiro is wont to do to him, he is guilted into attending class. He sits back on his chair, looking out windows, thinking, breathing, wondering, worrying.

He wasn’t one to think too much about his performances but lately, whenever he thinks about playing or going anywhere near a piano, he starts to feel a sense of lethargy. Whenever he plays though, there are no obvious compromises. He still plays well. The audience still loves it. But him? He doesn’t know why. He plays perfectly. And he’s very happy about that. He’d only usually be frustrated if he made mistakes. But this doesn’t make sense.

He slowly breathes out as he realizes. He's lost it. He's lost his love for playing. The only reason one should play in the first place and he lost it.

 _Why?_ Keith wonders to himself. _It’s not like I’m going through some sort of emotional trauma right now. Why?_

Either way, he couldn’t shake it off now. He dreads to play the piano. His heart starts beating fast, he feels a coldness in his stomach. You’d think it was nerves but he’d never been nervous about playing the piano since he was 6.

He scowls and shakes his head. He feels like the room is suffocating him and he needs to get. Out. He stands up without looking at anyone and while trying to be as quiet as possible. He still felt suffocated. His hands were shaking for no damn reason. He heads out of the classroom. He breathes in deeply. He still feels his hands shaking. And the first thought that ran through his mind was: _I can’t tell Shiro about this_.

\---

Unbeknownst to Keith, everyone was looking at him as he left the classroom.

And again, unbeknownst to Keith, Lance was actually at the front of the room, currently playing the piano as asked by the teacher and was cursing his name and everything he loves in his head a thousand times over.

Lance was never really as talented as the people in this university when it comes to music. Sure, he can play well enough, but the students here are crazy good. They can _really_ play. Just like the prick who just left in the middle of his admittedly subpar performance. Lance was nervous enough as it is about playing but seeing his teacher constantly look at Keith and Keith scowling all throughout his performance and then _walking out in the middle of it_ just ruined his day.

Maybe not just his day. More like his whole damn week.

He sighed. He never really felt like he belonged here anyway. He only attended this school because music stuff aside, it was a _really_ good school that could get you into a _really_ good college in the future. Plus, Allura studied here too and pushed him to attend this school and even helped him get a scholarship. His best friend, Hunk, was also studying here. But it kinda sucked that he knew for a fact that he was probably the only average musician out of everyone here.

And now, the students were looking at one another and the teacher was awkwardly coughing and looking at the door Keith just exited from.

“Um, please Lance you may continue.”

Lance really didn’t want to. But he did what he had to do, as what he usually does. And so, he continued to play his worst rendition of Erik Satie’s Gymnopédie No.1, a piece he’s always loved and can actually play decently on a good day. He missed a few notes or had poor timing because he can hear people start to not pay attention to him anymore and all he can think of is how Keith the McFreakin’ Genius Pianist walked out of his performance and ruined his whole day.

Frustratingly enough, this isn’t the first time he’s ever done rude things like this to Lance and he has had it with the guy. His Mama did not raise him to be confrontational so he never really confronted Keith about it but he has had it.

The fact that even though the guy doesn’t really interact with a lot of people and yet is still admired by a lot of people doesn’t really help ease Lance’s temper against him. Just the other day, he was having a nice conversation with this one cute girl during break and then Keith just _had_ to walk by, stop, turn back, and ask the girl if they had homework or something. Lance was _clearly_ trying to romance this girl and he just butted in between their conversation! From then on, the conversation steered into the topic of Keith and how he was so cool, and talented, and smart. Others started to join in and it pissed Lance off so he walked away.

Everyday it’s like this.

The guy would just be _sitting_ in the cafeteria for God’s sake. Just staring at a damn wall. And people would gush about how attractively introspective he is.

_THE DUDE’S JUST SPACED OUT. HOW DO YOU EVEN KNOW WHAT THE BEE’S WAX IS HE EVEN THINKING ABOUT? He could be thinking about a freakin’ monkey in a hula hoop for all YOU GUYS know._

Alas, no one would listen.

But Hunk would.

Hunk always listened about his “ _It’s not one-sided, Hunk. He’s doing this on purpose. It’s because I said he had a mullet that one time and he never forgave me for it. No one could be this dense and rude at the same time for this long.”_ Rivalry with Keith. And Hunk would definitely be hearing about this incident. Just as soon as he finishes this damn performance already.

Lance sneaks a glance to the right and misses a note in the process and sees that no one is listening in the first place. This seemed to douse a little of the fire raging in him. He sighs as he nears the last few notes of the piece.

_Gymnopedie No. 1 doesn’t deserve this treatment. I always loved this piece and no one is gonna ruin it for me._

Lance finally finishes and looks at the teacher with a sheepish smile.

“Sorry, I kinda played it poorly but it _is_ one of my favorite pieces, still.”

The teacher focused on Lance more and said, “Ah well. It’s fine, Lance. Don’t be too apologetic. Some people just have the talent for one thing and others have a talent for…different things, I guess. Please go back to your seat, Lance and thank you.”

Lance knows the teacher meant well but it didn’t really make him feel any better. He sighed and walked back to his seat. But before he did, one student tapped Lance on the shoulder. He looked to his right. It was Shay.

“Don’t worry, Lance. Cheer up! You did great and improved a lot, too.”

Lance smiled and started to straighten up. No lady should be tasked with the job of having to raise his spirits up. That’s what he does. Cheer people up. So, with his spine straight, his chin raised, hands on his hips, and a cocky grin on, he looked at Shay and said, “I did, didn’t I? I’m pretty sure the reason why Keith left was because he was threatened by my performance, wouldn’t you agree?”

Several people heard him and others ugh-ed while some chuckled.

Shay rolled her eyes but she still had a smile on her face. “Whatever you say, Lance.”

Lance winked at Shay and continued to head for his seat. He looked out of the window and sighed. He knows exactly where he is, what time it is and yet he still manages to be this damn lost. Only he can manage that, he thinks to himself.

For all the differences between Keith and Lance, today as they were both looking out of windows, they waited for the same thing. For 5:30 PM to come sooner. They both felt inexplicably tired and frustrated. They both watched the clouds pass. And 5:30 PM will roll around in the same way it rolls around for everyone.

In different places. Different people. Different problems. They both sigh.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In this chapter, we see that Keith is losing his will to play the piano and unintentionally does things that negatively affect Lance. He is, of course, oblivious to this but Lance doesn't believe so. Huh.
> 
> Well, next chapter will offer a more concrete example of the "rivalry" thing and maybe will show how truly dull Keith feels about playing the piano now. I write slow folks, so the romance will take a while hahaha.
> 
> \---
> 
> FEATURED MUSIC (for those who wanna listen)  
> \- Polonaise, Op. 53 in A minor (Seong-Jin Cho): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8QT7ITv9Ecs  
> \- Gymnopédie No.1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S-Xm7s9eGxU


	2. Reluctant Performances

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Keith had a bad Monday and finds peace.  
> Lance becomes an unwitting performer.
> 
> A chapter of budding connections.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope y'all like this one. Still no fluffiness, unfortunately. When I said I write slow, I mean I write SLOW folks. Unbuckle your belts, y'all this is a slow freakin ride.
> 
> BTW, I provided images to help guide the ~feel~ I wanted to capture in the moment or at least the setting so don't take them too literally. Just take in the atmosphere, my friend. Let it take you in. (IMAGES ARE NOT MINE.)

After the week Keith just had, he could not _wait_ for the weekends to come and so when it did, he did all the things that could distract him. He watched movies, went out to eat, hung out with Shiro (while avoiding talking about music), did some Tae Kwon Do. So when Sunday afternoon came, he had that unshakeable feeling of dread again.

Last week was horrible.

All week, every time he was asked to play in front of the class or for a small audience, he hated himself a little. It felt insincere, playing soullessly like what he did. The music didn't feel like anything. There didn't seem to be any sound that he could hear as he performed. It felt a lot like he was an office worker hacking away on his computer, typing the same documents over and over again. It felt _wrong_.

It didn't help that everyone kept showering him with praises when he felt like he did his shittiest performance. It made him distrust their compliments. And so he avoided talking to anyone about it because he knew that they just consider him as a really skilled pianist.

But every time he played, he just felt nothing. It's rocking his world so much because all he ever did, all that ever helped him be him, all the manners with which he expressed himself was through music. But now? He's lost. He's uninspired. It feels like having a lover turn into a stranger and it's driving Keith nuts. And all he can do is engage himself in activities that will distract him from it.

It also didn't help that there was this one kid that kept _bullying_ him or something. Well, not bullying really since he didn't really feel victimized. But it seemed that the guy was really trying to get a rise out of him. He didn't know why. He didn't even know the damn guy but he was loud, cocky, and irritating. He even heard him say they were rivals.

_Rivals in what? I've never even heard you play the piano. What's your problem? Who even ARE you?_

But when he said those words, the guy got even more angry at him, which considering the fact that Keith was already pretty high strung, made Keith angry and he swore he almost punched the dude.

_The name's Lance! I've been in classes with you since forever. We've been seatmates once, too. I can't freakin' believe you!_

So Keith somehow managed to get an enemy aside from a migraine from the previous week. It was hell.

So now it was a Sunday afternoon and the sun was beginning to set. Keith decided to head out and take a walk.

"Don't forget to buy eggs and a loaf of bread. Oh, and chips. You know what I like," Shiro reminded Keith before he left. "Also, be careful and don't stay out too late. I need those eggs for dinner."

Keith responded in the affirmative then went out.

The streets were paved orange as well as the sky and Keith stretched his arms above his head and sighed. Keith decides to think about something other than music so he thought about himself.

He liked being alone. He was relatively happy (except for this new funk he's gotten himself in) even though people would think he's always angry about something. He's just the type of person to watch an entire comedy routine with a straight face and when asked if he enjoyed the show he'd wholeheartedly and sincerely respond that it was hilarious. Unfortunately, the rest of the world didn't get that. So he has few friends.

Actually, now that he thinks about it, he has one. Shiro. His own damn brother.

_Well, shit. I've just come to the realization that I'm a huge lonely loser with no friends. What's sad is that I've JUST come to this realization._

Keith sighs. He's been doing that a lot lately. Sighing. He decides that the walk made him feel a little worse, actually, so he's just gonna have to cut the walk short, get those chips, eggs, and bread, and get the hell out of his head again.

The sun continues to set, painting from the easel that is the sky and blending the warm reds into cooler blues. With Keith's black eyes twinkling at the sight, it was the only way he could feel color these days.

\---

It was lunch time and Keith wanted to punch Lance in the face. If he doesn't stop glaring at him every time he sees him, he'd probably do it too.

_Think of your scholarship, you fool._

And Keith does. So all he does is glare back at Lance.

"Dude, stop. He isn't even doing anything," Hunk elbows Lance in the side when he sees what Lance was doing. Lance gasps melodramatically and Keith rolls his eyes when he hears it.

"Y-you too, Hunk? You're a fan of him, too? How could you? You _betrayed_ me." Lance says while pouting at Hunk. Hunk, the sweet guy that he is, seemed genuinely distressed by what Lance said even though everyone could clearly see Hunk would never betray Lance in a way that would actually hurt him.

"Noooo. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to. Lance, you have to know it's ridiculous to keep this up," Hunk pats Lance on the shoulder as Keith finds a seat that's out of the line of sight of Lance, but still somehow within hearing distance. "The guy's just wanting to eat."

Keith didn't listen to Lance's response, which he is grateful for because he thinks this might be a useful skill if he were to keep up his unwarranted adversity towards Keith. Keith was alone at the table and since Shiro won't be joining him today it made him notice even more how much of a loner he was. But even if he did notice, he doesn't really know how to change this.

Surprisingly, the douche had a table full of people around him. If that was what it took to have people around him, then maybe he didn't need friends after all. Keith felt like he had a headache coming to him. He wished everything would just stop sometimes. Alas, life isn't one to be played like a piano. Instead, life was the one playing you, and now Keith wanted life to stop pushing all his buttons before he imploded.

\---

It was getting to be too much for Keith today, and it was just a Monday.

There were guests in school and of course, like the prized performing monkey that he was, he was asked to play multitudes of songs for them. It was automatic for him. It feels like he doesn't even remember what he played but if he hears applause then I guess that's good enough. He stood up and bows at the guests and the two teachers accompanying the guests.

"Very good, Keith!"

Keith mumbles a thank you in response.

But before he could leave they asked for one more song. And for the very last song, they tell him that the choice was his. Whatever he wanted to play, they'd listen to. So Keith sat down again, he tried his best to not scowl too, and his mind was just blank.

He can't think of a single piece he wanted to play and now he was panicking on the inside. His hand felt cold and a little limp. He feels cold sweats cling to his skin. His heart was beating fast and he wanted to run out of the room. Eventually though, after 30 seconds of panicking, he managed to squeeze out Liebestraum No. 3 In A Flat Major, G 541, Op. 62 out of his cold fingers. He didn't even know if he did it right. He can't feel anything.

His playing was smooth, press these keys then these. Pause here. He created music that wasn't about the music.

As he plays the song, his eyes unfocus a couple of times. Why does he even keep playing?

Eventually, he stops and he doesn't even realize that he finished if it weren't for the teachers and guests applauding him once again. He stood, took a bow, then took his leave.

He closes the door behind him and he's at the school hallway. Classes were still ongoing so there was no one roaming the halls.

He listens to his breathing and wills his hands to stop shaking. _What the hell is wrong with me?_

No one answers. Keith can't wait for the weekend.

\---

It was 4 PM and Keith needed to get away from everyone. 4 PM on Mondays, Fridays, and sometimes Wednesdays meant that it was free arts period 'til 5 PM which was when they were dismissed. Keith broke away from the crowd as soon as the teachers and some of the students stopped talking to him and walked to the other side of the building. It wasn't really cutting class, but he was toeing the line for sure.

He wanted to get away because he needed to calm himself and think about what the hell is wrong with him.

_I love music. I love playing. I love performing. But I just want to fucking stop. I want to get away from it. How the hell is that love? Where did this come from? Should I ask Shiro? But why doesn't anyone notice? They all say I perform so well. It's me. I hate playing now. I lost it. I lost my passion for the piano. How could I freaking lose it?_

All these thoughts are running through his mind as he looks for a room in the old music hallways. He decides to stay in the second room from the end of the hall.

It was a club room that wasn't used anymore that Keith always went to when he felt a little jittery. He had a nice set-up of tables pushed together by the window already. He usually would use his backpack as a pillow, open the windows, and look out the window or fall asleep or daydream.

 _What will I do with my life now?_ He begins to worry again. _If I don't play the piano, who am I? What drives me now? Why was I playing before in the first place? Why is this so hard? Why is there so much noise in my head? Why? Why? Wh-wait, it's not in my head. It's..._

A sound disrupts Keith's thoughts. He hears the distinct noise of amateur piano playing and it was coming from the room to his right, the small room at the end of the hall. But nobody else was supposed to be here at all.

This was usually when the students were in a different area of the building. And he intentionally left during this time because mostly he can get away with it because this was the time when teachers allowed the students to use the various music rooms and art rooms on the other side of the building to practice on their own or ask teachers about advice and whatever. This was also the older part of the building. The equipment here was older, not too old to be non-functional, but old by this school's standards so it was rarely used. Plus, he was pretty sure that the room to his right was just a tiny room, not made for a class, with just a few instruments in. So he never remembered staying in that room for long, if at all.

So why is there a person playing here?

 _What if it's a ghost?_ Keith thought to himself but quickly shook his head. He wasn't really the ghost kind of conspirator. Plus, by the distinct sound of a muttered cuss it was definitely human. Keith listened more to the music.

He wasn't really sure what the piece was. It sounded contemporary. But whoever's playing was missing a lot of the keys and accidentally pressing other keys. Keith knows that unlike himself, whoever's playing isn't doing so with as much casualness and ease as he does. He was playing it deliberately and consciously. Thinking hard about the next key, where his fingers should land.

The piano player stopped mid-song and decided to start over. Curious, Keith wanted to come closer. So, without thinking too much about why he was curious about a bad pianist anyway he decided to leave the room he was in and stand outside the room's door.

He stepped down out of the tables and walked outside the club room, making sure to make as little noise possible. He sits down on the floor between the door to his club room and the door where this guy was. Now that a wall wasn't in his way, he can hear the utterances of whoever was inside more clearly. Keith continued to listen to the "performance". _More like the practice_.

Sometimes, when the guy makes mistakes he cusses. And whenever he makes mistakes, Keith unconsciously winces. He has been playing the piano for a long while after all and it's been years since he played this poorly. After missing the same part of the song three times, the guy presses on random keys hard and yells.

"AGH!!"

Keith shakes his head. _I know how that used to feel_. But now he's in a different kind of musical frustration. Keith wanted to scream too.

The guy makes a sound as if he was stretching his arms before saying, "Okay. Listen here, self. Give yourself a break, okay. How about we chill and just play. Let's just play and let the music take us, huh? Let's flippin' relax 'cause clearly it isn't working so well right now."

_The voice seems familiar but yeesh. He's talking to himself. What a weirdo._

And so the guy starts playing again. At first it was still stilted. But eventually he seemed to loosen up as he didn't pause slightly now every time he made a mistake. Keith was still listening, much to his own surprise but the piano playing and the sunlight and sky was calming him. So he was lulled into staying.

The sun continued to go down the sky, clouds passing by the sky like boats on a quiet stream. The wind would rattle the leaves on the trees softly, accompanying the inexperienced piano players' performance. Keith finds his mind wandering and his eyes closing, head resting on the wall. He breathes in a soothing breath.

The guy was fairly interesting. Sometimes, when the guy playing made mistakes he'd say something outlandish and weird like _Ack! Fruits and bananas!_ or he'd say  _ugh donkey_ but donkey was pronounced with Shrek's accent. And whenever he lets out an unintentional expression like that the guy would start laughing at himself. Sometimes making funny comments about it, too. It was light-hearted and warm. Like a sunny day. This whole self-exchange, coupled by the piano, and the quiet hallway was calming and made Keith feel lighter, made him feel less inclined to slouch his shoulders. And when the guy laughed at himself again, Keith finds himself smiling along, too.

The experience was surprisingly intimate and it relaxed Keith so much that he didn't notice time pass by and soon it was 5:30 PM. Keith almost jumped when he found out and so not surprisingly, he was reluctant to go. He felt a little like he had a weird sort of attachment to the guy even though he hadn't really talked to him nor does the guy even know he's been listening the whole time.

The guy was still playing, still practicing, still laughing to himself lightly. There's much to be said about his tenacity and discipline to keep playing. Keith would've been too impatient with himself. But Keith had to go. He didn't really like to make Shiro wait as he was a bit of a worry wart and would start thinking that Keith was kidnapped and would therefore start looking for him.

Keith didn't really want anyone to find out that he hung out here by himself when he felt suffocated by the whole world so he stood up, listened to the guy curse softly to himself when he made another mistake then Keith, smiling a little to himself, began to walk away.

 _Good luck, whoever-you-are_.

The leaves continued to sway to the wind. Keith could hear them as he walked the halls away from the piano playing. It was peaceful. It was calming.

\---

Lance didn't realize how long he'd been at it. It was 5:45 PM now and his back was aching as well as his fingers. His neck ached too.

"I need to stretch more. Jeez Louise with the bee's knees. That was tiring."

Lance looked out of the window and saw that the sky is painted that beautiful swatch of reds, oranges, and whites, and blues.

[ ](https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/45/bf/99/45bf9989ee5dbf2ca1ad10d90664be09.jpg)

Ah, the sunset. Nothing like the sky to lighten the spirit. He stayed way past dismissal because he's been waiting for Allura since she plans to leave at around 6 PM. Lance stretched his neck and his back and did warm-ups before he decided to leave the room.

He had been in the room since the "free arts period" which started at 4 PM and he didn't usually do anything during the free arts period since majority of the time the students would start playing the instruments wicked good and Lance was too embarrassed and a little too prideful to play in front of those genius freakin' kids. So the free arts period was usually him either hanging out with Hunk, listening to someone else play, or just loitering around the halls.

But last Friday, during a particularly boring Algebra class where he went to the rest room, instead of walking back to the classroom, Lance decided to wander around and he ended up finding this room. It was a cute, quaint little room with a few musical instruments inside and nice, open windows. So he decided to stretch a little inside, play happy birthday on the piano and it was so refreshing just hanging around in it that he decided to claim this place his own before running back to class.

So when free arts period started, he decided to go all the way to the other side of the building to practice here instead. It was the perfect place because it was windy with the windows open, there are no people who could hear him or judge him practicing and so it was a place where he wouldn't feel too insecure about making mistakes. He had been practicing the song from the movie _Her_ titled _Photograph_. His mama loved the movie's soundtrack and both of them cried during the movie. And since his Mama's birthday is coming up he thought it would be a nice gift if he surprised her with him playing the song flawlessly for her. He could already picture her crying and it made Lance chuckle and even more motivated to learn to play it.

So Lance left the room with a smile as he headed for the benches near the entrance of the front gate of the building where he and Allura were to meet up. He was a humming a tune and skipping a little. It was a good afternoon for him today.

 ---

Lance did the same thing for Wednesday's free arts period. He sneaked his way towards his "private" room and practiced his fingers off to get the song right. In the middle of it though, he decided to take a little break. He texted Hunk something funny but Hunk decided to call him in response.

"Dude, why are you calling?"

"It's free arts period, not free cut period, Lance. Where are you and why are you just sending me memes?"

"For your information, I HAVE been using the free arts period for arts. I was just taking a little break. I was actually practicing a little thingy for my mom's birthday."

Lance suddenly felt a little shy describing to Hunk, a music maestro himself, about what he planned to give his ma for her birthday. But Hunk found it sweet and aww'ed at Lance and cut their conversation short as the teacher might catch Hunk. Lance, after that, continued to practice. And practice and practice 'til the room turned orange.

He did it for Friday's free arts, too.

Little did he know that a certain black-haired pianist was listening on the other side of the wall. A hidden audience for a hiding performer. The wind continues to blow softly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter:  
> Falling for sounds and falling into shock and no actual falling.
> 
> FEATURED MUSIC (for those who want to listen)  
> \- Liebestraum No. 3 In A Flat Major, G 541, Op. 62: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4RZwVy1RMr4  
> \- Photograph from the movie "Her": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gz2odCUYvkA


	3. Caught

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Keith feels the beginning of something. Probably anger.  
> Shiro does what an older brother has to do: Irritate younger siblings.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was supposed to update earlier than this, but I wasn't feeling too well for the past few days so here we are. This didn't come out as I'd hoped but at least I did it. Enjoy!
> 
> DISCLAIMER: I don't know Spanish, y'all.

Ever since Shiro was a little kid, he had always wanted to have a little brother. But one time he had asked his parents if he could have one, and in response they kindly and patiently told Shiro that his mom couldn't bring another one out into the world and so never did he ever bring it up to his parents again.

But when he saw a black-haired dirty and scrawny little kid hiding behind the tree in his backyard, he knew he still wanted to have a little brother.

Shiro tried approaching the strange kid but the moment the kid knew he was caught, the kid ran away from the house immediately. Shiro was disappointed and went back inside his house. A moment later, a little after dinner, he brought out leftovers in a container with a little note attached saying: "Don't be scared. Please have some food." The next morning, the container was empty and the note was gone. Shiro smiled to himself.

At first, all Shiro did was leave leftovers and write notes until one morning, he saw the kid standing right outside the front of his house.

The kid was bruised and it looked like he had been crying. Shiro, in his fluster, tripped on his way to greet the kid.

There were visible tear marks on the kid's face and he was carrying a small bundle, a kitten, in his arms.

"Are you okay?" Shiro asked. The kid didn't look him in the eye and just nodded. The kitten in his arms began to mewl weakly which made the kid look worriedly at it and then to Shiro. The kid stretched his arms out to Shiro which Shiro figured out was him trying to give Shiro the kitten.

"Please."

"Wh--Please?"

"Kitty." The kid frowned up at Shiro with tears he was clearly trying to hold back which was all anyone had to do to make Shiro do anything for you. So, Shiro took the cat from the kid unquestioningly and said, "What's your name? I'm Takashi."

"K-Keith."

"Hello, Keith." The kid just blinked up at Shiro and looked down on his feet. Keith, while still looking at his feet, mumbled a thanks. Before Shiro could reply, however, his parents began to call for his name. Keith, upon hearing the yells of the adults, looked panicked and began to run away.

"Keith, wait!"

Alas, Keith had already disappeared. Shiro went inside his home with the kitten and explained the whole thing to his parents. He said he had a friend named Keith who gave him a kitten. Shiro said he was tasked to protect the kitten and that he had been giving Keith some food. Shiro's parents knew, of course, that their son had been stealing away leftovers but they didn't know it was for a kid. The parents both looked at each other and seem to have come to a decision.

"Takashi. Next time your friend comes, why don't you invite him in, hm? Kaa-san will make some cookies and you can both watch TV with Otou-san."

Shiro grinned widely and hugged his mom and then his dad in thanks.

Eventually, Keith would come back both to visit the kitten and to talk to Shiro. Shiro didn't manage to convince him to come inside the first time though. It took a lot of days of talking and being gentle with Keith before he managed to be comfortable enough to hang-out in Shiro's home which was the beginning of the Shirogane's relationship with Keith.

After a few months of Keith staying over and leaving in the middle of the night and Shiro being worried that he'd never come back, Shiro decides to convince Keith to stay.

"Keith, I could be your brother!"

Keith squinted at Shiro in doubt. "I dunno."

"It would be easy. I'd make papers that would say you want to be my brother too and that I also want you to be my brother. I already taught you how to write your name before we went to play Tou-san's piano so it would be easy and then we'd be brothers!"

Shiro was very determined. He knew how the adults like to do things and that's through paperwork. And so they looked for a clean sheet of paper and a pen, not a pencil because that's for children, and began to write up a certificate making Keith Shiro's official little brother, complete with Keith's signature.

When Shiro's parents came home, Shiro called for his parents to the dinner table, same as they would do to him if there was something important to be said, and was standing with his chin up and with Keith right behind him. Shiro's parents looked at each other questioningly before Shiro's father looked back at Shiro.

"What is it, Takashi?" Shiro's dad asked while kneeling down to their eye level. Shiro's dad can see that Shiro was holding onto a piece of paper very carefully and that all this fanfare must have something to do with it.

"I'm adopting Keith." Shiro said with as much adult dignity and seriousness he can muster. Keith clenched Shiro's hand and shirt the moment he said it.

Shiro's dad's eyes looked surprised. So did his mom. His dad looked back at his mom and both shared an amused look at each other.

"Oh?"

"Yes. I have papers. He's mine now and if you don't want to, that's okay because the paper says he's mine anyway. Not yours."

Keith looked warily at the two adults. He was nervous and really wanted to run away, but Shiro was holding his hand and did not plan on letting go until Shiro was sure that Keith was his little brother. He highly doubted that this was going to work and he didn't really want to run away again. It was warm here, and it sort of felt like he actually had family. Just thinking about having to leave and never coming back is making Keith want to start crying.

There was a moment of silence that stretched long in Shiro and Keith's perception. Shiro's parents looked at each other, his mom raising an eyebrow the only conversation between the two. Finally, Shiro's dad looked at both Shiro and Keith with a light smile on their faces.

"Well, Kaa-san, what can we do? The papers are right here." Shiro's dad stands up and smiles more widely at Shiro then at Keith. He ruffles both of their hair and then walks over to put his arm around his wife. "But, we also want the papers to say we're Keith's parents, too. Just to be sure. Right, Kaa-san?"

"Well, of course." Shiro's mom shrugs then smiles. "I guess I have two sons now, huh?"

Keith and Shiro had a brief moment of being unsure before the realization came to them. And when the realization came to Shiro, he started to jump up and down rapidly. He turned to Keith while still jumping and said "We're brothers!"

Keith was overwhelmed. Shiro's parents, well I guess it's _his_ parents now too, were smiling at him. Shiro was jumping up and down chanting repeatedly, "We're brothers! We're brothers! This is your home now too Keith! We're brothers!" And with all the tension built up inside Keith now beginning to dissipate, he could do nothing else but cry in relief.

Everyone began to hug Keith and coo at him when they saw. Finally, he had a family.

Shiro looked down at Keith who was crying while laughing at something their dad said to cheer him up and smiled to himself. He found himself a little brother while finding Keith a family in the process. Today was a good day.

A little while later, it began to snow a little outside. The family kitten named Red was sleeping. Kaa-san was cooking a special meal and Tou-san was wrestling with both Shiro and Keith. Today was, correction, a great day.

\---

Keith is gonna get an earful from Shiro, that's for sure.

Shiro has been quietly observing Keith for the past few days because lately he hasn't been too keen on playing the piano. Oh, if you asked him to play though, he would still do it. But for some reason that Shiro doesn't know, he seems to play much more mechanically than he usually did. So Shiro decided that it was his brotherly duty to sneak around his little brother and find out what's going on with him.

And that's how he found out that Keith had been cutting during free arts period much more frequently than he did before. And if Shiro tells this discovery to Keith, Shiro knew what Keith would say in response already.

_The teachers don't mind, Shiro. They already know that there's nothing they could possibly teach me about the piano that I don't already know._

It may be true, but it doesn't mean you should abuse that privilege of trust was what Shiro would tell him in reply, if he could only find where he's been hiding all this time that is. Shiro's been quietly observing Keith for a week now but he always manages to disappear before Shiro could track him.

_This Friday, for sure._ Shiro thinks to himself. It was going to be another free arts period and Shiro is determined to find where his delinquent-like brother likes to hang out or so help him.

\---

It is now Friday at around 3:45 PM and Keith is itching for the free arts period to come.

Today would mark the 6th day since the day Keith accidentally eavesdropped on a student practicing on the piano, albeit rather slowly and poorly than Keith was used to, in the room to the right of his self-proclaimed private room. He stopped listening right outside the other room's door at day two because it's dangerous and he could get caught plus the guy opened up the windows on the other room, so now Keith could listen right outside the window in his room without compromising the sound quality too much.

He still didn't know who the person was but Keith isn't really interested in becoming acquainted. Also, it would be kinda weird if he did try to introduce himself and get acquainted with the guy out of the blue.

_Hi. I've kinda been listening to you play the piano since last week. Want to get acquainted?_

Keith is fine with just listening to him.

The guy has been practicing the same song since last week and is now, according to Keith's assessment, an adequate enough player. Sure, sometimes he'd miss keys but over-all, Keith would give him an 8 out of 10 for precision and technique, but a 10 out of 10 for passion and emotion. In that aspect, Keith could say as of late that whoever-he-was was better than him.

All Keith knew about the guy was that he isn't a great pianist and that he's practicing the song for his Mom, which is kind of sweet. He also has a nice laugh that made Keith smile and he likes talking to things that couldn't possibly respond back to him.

_Oh hello there, Mr. Bird. How you doin? Did my awful piano playing disturb you? Don't worry. I'm gonna be taking a 5-minute break so you can rest up for a while._

_Ah, glorious wind. Here to keep me company as always. Thank you._

_Good afternoon, Peppa._ (A nickname for the piano he's playing on.) _It's me again. Please be kind to me as you always are._

Keith found it a little ridiculous and a little cute. But Keith isn't one to attach certain feelings to someone he doesn't even know so he just shook his head and looked down at his watch. It reads 3:56. Four more minutes 'til four o' clock. Keith feels impatient and starts to shake his leg. Whenever he was in the room were the only times he felt like he could forget about his current piano playing dilemma. He felt at ease and unpressured. He felt free.

He can't wait for four o' clock to come a-chiming. Not that it had anything to do with the bad pianist who talks to birds and plays the piano for his Mom or anything. It was just like an early dismissal for Keith is all.

He promises.

\---

It was 4:10 and the piano player Keith wasn't waiting for just arrived.

_Ugh. Finally._ Keith thought to himself before he realized what he was just thinking.

_It's cause there's no white noise to help me relax, is all._ He rationalizes. And satisfied with the reasoning, he begins to lay down right on the desks pushed together by the window closest to the open window on the other room.

"Good afternoon, Peppa. Today's the day! Are you ready for our performance?"

Keith sits up and looks at the wall dividing Keith's room from the other room. He didn't know today was the mom's birthday. For some reason, he can feel the nervousness of the guy from the other side and it made Keith a little nervous too.

"Whoo. Alright. We can do this. Let's call her now, before the festivities start and keep her too busy."

_Wait. He's gonna perform through call? Hm. They mustn't live near each other if he can't visit her even during weekends then._ Keith thinks to himself.

The call connects and Keith could hear the guy breathe in as soon as it does.

"Mama! Feliz cumpleaños! Cumpleaño feliz~ Cumpleaño feliz~"

The guy began to sing happy birthday in what Keith recognizes as Spanish. _He's Spanish? And can speak it too?_

After the guy stopped singing Happy Birthday, Keith hears his mother say, "Ah, gracias, mi hijo, gracias. How are you, hm? Where are you? Don't you have class?"

Keith hears the guy laugh a little before saying, "Ahh, mama. You know I couldn't possibly miss greeting you a happy birthday even if it means having to sacrifice a little, you know? And I know how you throw those birthdays, mama. The place is going to be packed and you're going to be too busy taking care of them to have time to talk to me or Allura, so I decided to sneak out of class a little to give mi hermosa madre a little birthday present I've been working on for _days_."

_Nice diversion._

"Oh! Mi hijo," Keith hears the mother exhale and can imagine her smiling fondly. "You didn't have to. So? ¿Dónde está el regalo?"

The guy laughs out loud and says, "Mama, remember the last movie we watched together before I left home? The movie _Her_? The one we where we both cried together?"

"Si."

"Remember how you said you liked the soundtrack and all that?"

"Si?"

"Well, although you know that tu hijo is not as great of a piano player as you nor papa nor All--"

"Oh, shut up, mi hijo. You're wonderful without--"

"Mama! Please!" The guy laughs a little before continuing. "That wasn't the point. The point is that even though I'm not good at the piano, I still practiced my butt off to play the song _Photograph_ from the movie to perform for you as a gift on your birthday!"

"Oh, mi hijo." Keith smiles at the fondness he can trace in the mother's voice.

"Now, now, mama. Leave the tears from after you realize how many keys I miss, alright?"

The mother laughs and says alright.

There was a moment of silence and Keith lays his head on the window waiting for the guy to play the first few notes. After a few seconds, he hears the guy inhale then begin to play the first key that signified the beginning of the song.

Keith closed his eyes and felt the music. It felt like rain pattering on your window as you lay beneath blankets. It felt like a flash of memories. It felt like...it felt like...home.

It reminded Keith of that time when he knew, definitively, that he had family. It was a song of love. It was a song to fall in love with. It brought up images of leaves on trees shaking as the wind rustles them along its path. As it progresses, the notes begin to play faster.

Like a rush of emotions. Like the rain morphing to a storm. It became faster and louder. It was beautiful. It wasn't perfect, but no beauty ever is.

The guy begins to play the last notes. These were slower. And softer.

It was like stepping in puddles. Like snow fall. And then, the song was done.

Keith opened his eyes to hear clapping from the other room.

"Oh, mi hijo! That was beautiful!"

Keith smiled and was tempted to smile himself. He was sure he probably missed a few keys but Keith also knew he didn't really mind. It was, as his mother said, beautiful. Much more beautiful than how Keith played now, he believes.

"Ah, mama. I missed tons of keys. But thank you, anyway. I hope you liked it."

"Mi hijo! How could I not! Do you see these tears through the phone? I loved it! Oh, we miss you, mi hijo. You and Allura. Did she help you practice this?"

"No, mama! No way. I was actually planning to play this for her as a surprise."

The mother and son continue to talk for a while and Keith decided that this might be the right time to leave. He already intruded on the important part, he didn't want to intrude on the rest. Keith smiled at the wall, right where the other guy was probably video calling his mother.

"Congrats. You played well. Better than I expected." He reached out to the wall a little before he caught himself then started to walk out of the room, leaving the two to themselves.

Keith slid the door open and walked straight to a solid mass of...flesh. A person.

"Kei--"

Keith knew who it was from the get-go and his eyes almost popped out of his sockets. He covered Shiro's mouth with his hand and began to gesticulate wildly of their need to be quiet. If they get caught by the guy on the other room, Keith wouldn't know what to do with himself. Maybe he'd drop out or something.

Shiro and Keith quietly speed walk away from the room Keith was at. Shiro figured it was important to Keith not to be caught so he kept his mouth shut until they could get a safe distance away from the room.

\---

Once Shiro and Keith were out of the older part of the building, Shiro starts to address the little episode that he saw back at the room Keith was hiding at.

"So..." Shiro started with a knowing look despite Keith not looking at him at all.

"Don't even start with this." Keith warns while still not facing Shiro, both of them still walking away from the room even though they were far enough already.

"Strong reaction back there, hm?" Shiro, despite the warning, still started whatever this is. "Who was that?"

"I don't know."

"Ohhh, you don't know, huh? Alright. So then why have you been cutting class to stalk him for the past few days hm?"

Keith didn't reply and Shiro grinned.

"If you don't know who he is, why would you go through all that effort of hiding from him, hmm?"

"I really don't know who he is." Keith mumbled. Shiro stopped. Even though Keith mumbled his response, Shiro heard it well enough.

"You really don't know him?"

"I said what I said."

Shiro almost wanted to laugh but he knew if he did, Keith was gonna try to punch him and not talk to him for days.

"Okayyy. So then, what's the whole thing with you and the whole congrats and stuff?"

"Wait a minute. Before we start interrogating _me_ , first of all, what have _you_ been doing, hm? Neglecting your duties to stalk your little brother? What's that about?"

"Don't try and change the subject with me, young man."

"You're a young man, too? Also, how do I know you aren't the one changing the subject right now?"

"Ehem."

Keith and Shiro both look behind them and find Allura standing with her arms crossed, looking at them bickering. Keith thinks to himself that he's getting really tired of people managing to sneak up on him lately. It made him feel like there was actually something wrong with him now.

Shiro fake coughs and straightens up. Keith always found it a little funny that everyone else always sees the responsible, always dependable side of Shiro and that Shiro always felt like he had to act that way in front of others. And so with Allura standing right in front of them, Shiro is bound to switch back to Mr. Dependable.

"Allura. Is there a problem?"

Allura was also a teacher here at Altea. She was an excellent musician, particularly adept at the piano as well as the violin, though she prefers the violin. Aside from being an excellent musician, she was also a great dancer, which she highly preferred than being a musician. She used to also teach piano and violin for the students, but lately she stopped. Now, she only teaches dance classes.

She was scary and intimidating as a teacher, they say. And Shiro knew that as a fellow teacher, she actually was kinda intimidating. She carried herself gracefully and was a coworker you could really depend on. Although Shiro has had few instances to ask for her help. They weren't really close. Plus, Shiro really wasn't the kind of person to depend on anyone.

"Not a problem, per se, Takashi. At least for now."

"Ah, please. Everyone calls me Shiro. By the way, how rude of me," Shiro looks back at his brother standing with his arms crossed and glaring a little at him. Shiro could feel him judging his professional persona right at this moment. Shiro ignores it as he usually does and gestures towards Keith. "This is Keith, my little brother and also a student here."

"Delighted to meet you, Keith." She bows her head a little in recognition of Keith and smiles elegantly at him, giving Keith the weird feeling of being greeted by a member of the royalty. He almost felt inclined to bow.

"Delighted to meet you, too, Ma'am." Allura smiles in response.

"So, Allura, what did you want to talk about?" Shiro asks.

"I wanted to know why you two were just stalking my brother."

\---

A little before 4 PM struck, Shiro was already outside Keith's classroom waiting. He planned to be in a place that wasn't noticeable to Keith or anyone else because he knew Keith had sharp senses and would sniff him out. As an older brother, Shiro felt himself responsible for Keith's wayward class-cutting so he was going to correct it. But first, he wanted to know why Keith kept cutting class in the first place. Hence, the hiding and the waiting.

4 PM comes and Keith walks out of the classroom. Shiro sees Keith expertly stick to the walls and shadows while still acting nonchalant and casual about walking opposite of everyone else's direction.

_Where do you think you're going, Keith? Am I spoiling this damn kid too much?_  

After a minute or so of walking, Keith began to head for the old part of the building that wasn't normally used by the students. Shiro nodded to himself when he saw this. He saw the logic of going to the older part of the building because there were few or no people at all around this area especially during this time. So Shiro was stalking along, fairly impressed with himself from not being detected by Mr. Paranoid, a.k.a. Keith, when he was suddenly intercepted by a student who just came out of one of the restrooms, saw Shiro and decided that she wanted to ask for his advice on a certain piano piece she's composing herself.

It _was_ free arts period and teachers were tasked to help students out with their arts needs so Shiro was dragged away before he could find out where Keith was holing himself up during free arts period.

Eventually though, Shiro managed to untangle himself from the students and walked back to the old part of the building. It was around 4:18 PM though before he managed to get back to tracking Keith. He hoped Keith was still somewhere in the old part of the building. Shiro searched through the classrooms quietly, one-by-one. He was rarely here so he wasn't too familiar with some of the classrooms. He was looking through some hallways when out of nowhere, he heard piano playing from the hallway right next to the one he was searching on.

The piano playing was, based on Shiro's estimate, coming from the classroom at the end of the hall. Shiro decided to check out whoever it was that was playing. One thing Shiro is sure of rhough, was that it wasn't Keith. It was most certainly someone who could use Shiro's help during free arts period.

Shiro stalked the halls quietly, crouching so that he could be closer to the ground and make less noise-prone steps. Before he could come closer to the room at the end of the hall, however, he noticed movement inside the room before that through the small windows in the door.

Shiro decided to peek through and saw his very own little brother, Keith, with his head laying on the window with a small smile on his face, listening intently to the piano playing. Shiro listened closely to the piano playing. He didn't recognize the song but it was light and breezy. The playing was not perfect, certainly, but he could feel intent and it almost made Shiro forget that he was stalking his little brother.

Shiro looked at his brother who was completely at peace. It was rare that Shiro saw Keith like this. Especially as of late.

So Shiro looked at the door next to him and wondered who was the piano player next door.

The piano playing stopped and Shiro looked back at where Keith was. Keith was still laying his head on the window as conversation on the other room began to erupt. Shiro was too focused on Keith to remember exactly what they were talking about but he believed he heard Spanish?

Shiro sees Keith after a short while begin to stand up and gather his things. But before he left the room, Keith smiled at the wall dividing the room Keith was in and the piano player was in.

"Congrats. You played well. Better than I expected."

Keith reached out to the wall a little before he seemed to catch himself and Shiro was too caught up on his discovery about his little brother's secret ( _Was it a crush?_ ) that he was too late in stepping away from the door and hiding himself as Keith opened it and bumped straight into him.

"Kei--"

And before Shiro could even finish, he was dragged away by a noticeably panicked, and maybe a little red?, Keith with a crush on a mystery piano player.

\---

Lance is laid down on the floor smiling to himself.

Everytime he talked with his Mama, he felt like he was home. He felt a little guilty that he didn't share this moment with Allura but he knew Allura and Mama have moments like these too so he is free to indulge. Besides, he's going to be playing the same song for Allura later anyway.

Lance feels cheered up by that brief moment with his Mama because truth be told he felt a little out of place in Altea. Everyone was so talented and it took much more effort for Lance to accomplish what they probably don't even think about. He wanted to go home, where although there were music geniuses in the family, they didn't make him feel as intimidated and alone.

Even with academics, he studies so hard but can never quite reach the top. It was bumming him out, sometimes.

Lance flips himself face down onto the floor with his arms and legs spread, making as if to hug the floor. He is thankful for this room, this quiet haven he found. It made him feel safe and warm. The room is so bright and airy which made Lance feel bright and airy and he is really thankful for finding it. A place he belongs in.

"Fank you, room. I luf you." Lance proclaims with his mouth half smushed by the floor.

Lance closed his eyes as the curtains played shadow puppets on Lance's face as he lay there and felt the wind brush his skin. Lance just lays on the floor, relaxing, oblivious to all the people his one performance had reached. Perhaps, if he knew, it would've changed nothing. Or changed a lot. Or perhaps, Lance just needed a nap. And so a nap he did take. With a small smile on his face, quite similar to a certain audience's as he laid his head and listened to Lance playing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ruh-roh moments with Keith the uninspired pianist.
> 
> Next chapter:  
> Keeping secrets.  
> With and from siblings.
> 
> FEATURED MUSIC:  
> Photograph: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gz2odCUYvkA


	4. Suspicions and Suspects

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Allura and Shiro are model older siblings.  
> Keith can't believe it's (not) Lance.  
> Lance chases after a rat.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Writing is hard. Who knew? I just want to get on with the fluff and the angst, but even I am a prison of my own slow story progression writing style. At least, we havin' fun yo. Enjoy!

"I wanted to know why you two were just stalking my brother."

The moment Allura said those words, she regretted them immediately. Showing Takashi-- _Shiro_ _, I mean_ \--and Keith her cards is a great tactical error on her part but she felt a little overcome by adrenaline and so she was much more careless than she usually would have been.

It all started last week when Allura happened to pass by the halls where the free arts period for musicians was usually placed. She was supposed to say something about a meeting to a fellow teacher and decided to start looking around for Lance or probably Hunk while she's at it cause where there's Hunk there's Lance but for some reason, she couldn't find them anywhere. She shrugged her shoulders and left soon after doing her task.

The next free arts period rolls around and she was in the area again and scanned the area for Lance and Hunk. She still didn't see Lance but she did see Hunk so she assumed Lance was somewhere near him even though she didn't really actually see him.

Friday last week, the free arts period rolls around and she was in the area again and she managed to find Hunk again, this time busy playing the electric keyboard. Usually, Lance would've been around him but she didn't see him anywhere. It didn't really strike her as odd at first until this week Monday and she still never saw Lance during free arts period. Then her alarms were raised.

So on Wednesday's free arts period, she made sure to check if he'd attend class and she was frustrated not to find him anywhere. And he only seemed to be missing during the free arts period too.

So, today, she decided to find out where Lance goes during the free arts period.

Once 4 o' clock rolled around, it didn't seem as if Lance planned to go anywhere at all. He was lounging around with two of his friends, one of whom was Hunk. Allura was confused. Until finally, Hunk started playing an instrument and everyone in the near vicinity was observing, did Lance start to sneak away. Allura hid herself behind a crowd as Lance raced past her.

She carefully trailed him and soon enough she found herself in the halls in the older part of the building that the students rarely used. She saw Lance go to the last hallway and enter the farthest room. She followed him, quietly and carefully. Suddenly, she hears the noise of unmistakable tip toeing somewhere near her. Even though technically Allura wasn't really doing anything that would warrant the reaction she had, she panicked. And in her panic, she entered the tiny janitor's closet that was at the end of the hall, perpendicular to the room Lance was in.

It was a good thing that the janitor's closet had slits on it or else Allura was sure she wouldn't have lasted as long inside as she did.

She looked through the slits to see who was the one tip toeing near her and to her surprise, she saw a fellow teacher sneaking around. Takashi, she believed his name was.

She knew Takashi to be a very reliable co-worker and everyone almost always asked him for help both professionally and personally. He was nice and considerate and the students also loved him. She quietly observed Takashi looking through each room looking for something. Or someone. Was he looking for Lance?

In her adrenaline, only now did Allura notice that the room Lance was in was being filled and was emanating the unmistakable sound of piano playing. Unfortunately, Allura couldn't hear it quite as well as she could have had she been outside the Janitor's closet.

She sees Takashi look through the room before the smaller room Lance was in and sees his body language indicate as if he found something. She couldn't really see very well, but she sees Takashi stop in front of the door.

It was a while before he moved again, and it was a little after she hears Lance stop playing and start talking to...someone. She still couldn't quite hear it clearly. Then, Allura sees Takashi jump as the door he was peeping through opens slowly and deliberately quietly. It seems like Takashi and whoever opened the door knew each other and the younger one was gesticulating wildly for Takashi to quiet down. Soon, in a quiet hurry, the two began to speed walk away from where they were. Once they were a little ways away, Allura began to open the Janitor's closet.

She could hear Lance talking to a familiar female voice. _Mama! Oh he's probably greeting her a Happy Birthday._

Allura decided she'd deal with all that was Lance later and started to chase after the two stalkers as far as Allura was concerned. And so here she is.

She was standing right in front of them, confused and wishing to be clarified on certain things. Takashi-- _ugh, Shiro, I mean_ \--was standing calmly, as if she didn't just pronounce that she saw him fairly uncharacteristically tip toe around the halls a while ago. And his little brother as Shiro introduced him looked shocked for a second before he expertly hid his reaction and began to look at her with squinted eyes.

"I wasn't stalking your brother. Well at least, _I_ wasn't." Taka--Shiro said. Keith looked sharply at Shiro in reaction and Allura could see a very faint smirk on the edge of Shiro's lips.

"So, I'm assuming you are then?" Allura gestures towards Keith and Keith wears shock plainly on his face.

"Wha--No way. No I wasn't. I just met you so I really wouldn't know who your brother is too."

"Then why did I catch you two sneaking away from the room my brother was in, hmm? Like you _really_ didn't want him to find you guys out."

Takashi raised an eyebrow and looked at Keith. "I wasn't really that concerned. Someone else was."

"What! Wait a minute, first off, what are _you two_ doing sneaking away from your teacher duties, hm? And with all due respect, Ma'am, how could you possibly have seen everything you claim to have seen? Where have _you_ been hiding?" Keith was fairly puffing. _Wow. He has a temper, doesn't he?_

"Keith. Be respectful." Shiro reprimanded Keith.

"I was being respectful. I said _with all due respect_ and _Ma'am_ didn't I?"

"Keith."

Keith sighed and turned away from Shiro then mumbled an _Alright_.

"It's improper to be hiding and sneaking, Keith. I simply have my ways, and that's all I have to say about that." Allura said in response to Keith's questioning. Sure, she did sneak and hide but only she had to know that. She has a reputation to keep in this school, of course. Allura looked at the two brothers who seemed to not want to include Allura on a secret. She can see that Shiro wasn't willing to share anything else beyond that which Keith was uncomfortable to talk about, but she knew she'd be keeping an eye out for these two.

"Alright. Since no one will budge, I'll cease my questioning." Allura smiled serenely at the two brothers. "I'll take my leave and would wish to advise the both of you to return to your appropriate places as well. Let's leave my brother alone for now, hmm?"

"Wait, Ms. Allura." Keith stopped Allura. Allura looked back at Keith and tipped her head a little to the side.

"Yes?"

"Um...may I know who's your brother?"

Allura successfully managed to repress the mischievous grin trying to make its way to her lips. She managed to smile still very serenely at Keith. She decided to keep Keith on his toes for a little and decided to look at Takashi who looked particularly invested in this business much as Allura finds herself curious as well.

"Takashi."

"Shiro, please."

"Ah, yes. Shiro."

"Yes?"

"Do you know who my brother is?"

Shiro's eyes twinkled a little before responding, "I think I do."

"Hmm. Will you tell your brother who my brother is?"

Shiro, unlike Allura, didn't hide the mischievous smile only older siblings manage to make when diving themselves in the businesses of their younger siblings. Neither of them were looking at Keith. They were acting as if Keith wasn't in the same room as them at all which was making Keith feel mad.

"If he tells me why he's so curious about him, maybe."

Allura smiled a little wider then looked at Keith who was standing there fuming. Allura smiled in the face of his anger and said, "Well, if you tell me what sort of attachment you have with his identity, then I will tell you who he is. An equal trade. How about that?"

 _Oh, ho-ho-ho. Lance snagged himself a little admirer._ Allura chuckled to herself. Allura was a little worried with how Lance was coming along in Altea but it seems like he's doing quite well for himself.  _He's cute enough in that teenage bad boy sort of way, I guess._

"Deal." Keith said. It was an easy enough deal. There wasn't really any concrete sort of attachment that Keith had with the person. It's just the mystery that makes a person a curiosity. Soon enough, once he finds out who the person is, Keith knows he'd start to lose interest. Besides, if he can lose interest in the one thing he thought he'd be passionate about, then this is a walk in the park.

So Keith tells Allura and Shiro what exactly has been "going on" between Keith and the mystery piano player. He tells them of how he usually cuts class at around this time (not mentioning why he had been cutting more frequently than usual) and how he was always hanging around that area. He tells them how last week, somebody all of a sudden started playing the piano and Keith just happened to be there listening.

"I wasn't going to leave. I was there first." Keith said when asked why he stayed in the first place.

"Well then why didn't you at least introduce yourself?" Shiro asked.

"I'm not interested in making friends." Keith said in response. He looked bored and uncaring. "Besides, it would be weird if I just started to introduce myself to him out of nowhere."

Once Keith finishes narrating the story of how he came upon the mystery piano player, Allura looked at the Shirogane brothers' faces. Keith seemed like that really all was there to it and Shiro seemed to be contemplating something about the story, as if something didn't quite add up. Allura quietly agreed that something didn't seem right but she wouldn't say it out loud.

"Well, a deal's a deal." Allura said and stretched her hand out for Keith to shake. Keith obligingly did and looked at Allura more expectantly than that of someone who "really wasn't interested".

"So, who is he? What's his name?"

"I believe he's probably around your age. If you had known my last name, you probably wouldn't be wondering who he is."

Keith wanted to shake something in impatience. "The name? Please? The _first_ name?"

Allura laughed and Shiro raised his eyebrow in judgment at Keith.

"The name's Lance."

\---

When Lance and Allura met up on the school's main courtyard to go home, Lance ,as Lance usually does every time they go home, asked Allura: "So, anything interesting happen in the world of Princess Allura today?"

Allura looked at Lance, serenity personified, and stared at him for deliberately a millisecond too long, just enough to pique Lance's interest, before saying with a light smile, "Not really."

Lance stared at Allura who was looking forward for a second before raising an eyebrow and shrugging his shoulders and beginning a new conversation. Lance new there was something interesting in Allura's mind, but only Allura will share in, according to her own words, her own Allura time.

\---

Shiro quietly observed Keith throughout the weekend after the particular incident that happened yesterday afternoon.

The moment Allura told Keith the name of the mysterious piano player Shiro had been quietly observing Keith's reaction. Keith just shrugged in response and said, "Huh." And that was all Keith ever outwardly expressed after what Shiro thought would've been a turning point for Keith. But so far, it seemed like nothing changed for Keith. He never mentioned the incident again and if Shiro were to slyly bring it up, Keith would just raise a brow and address it straight to the point.

"Unfortunately for you Shi-shi, there really is nothing for you to tease me about with this. It's over. The issue's done."

Shiro was fairly disappointed. He didn't really know why but maybe it's just that he wanted to see respond to anything else but music and family. Shiro's a little worried that Keith, for all the places he has travelled and his music reached, never had a friend.

So now, it was Saturday evening and while walking the streets with Keith as they perused the choices of restaurants to have their dinner at, Shiro decided to do a little brotherly prodding again.

"Keith, you need to put yourself out there more."

Keith choked on the freshly squeezed green juice they just bought from a small store they just passed and looked at Shiro.

"Wow. That was out of nowhere. Well, where're your friends, Shiro?"

Shiro laughed at Keith's rebuttal and pat him on the back.

"Okay, okay, checkmate, I guess."

"I don't get it, Shi-shi. You're a nice dude. Usually. Well, to others," Shiro rolls his eyes. "It makes sense for _me_ not to have close acquaintances, but it doesn't make sense for _you_."

"I'm friends with Matt, aren't I?"

"He's not even in the same continent, dude. He doesn't count."

"What do you mean he doesn't count? He's still one more than you have."

"Wow. Ouch."

"Don't act like that hurt you."

"Fine."

"So...again. You need to go out more. Make more friends."

"I don't have time for friends."

"You act as if friends are going to occupy every single moment of your life."

"I'm fine with myself, and family."

"And the piano, I know."

Keith shrugged to avoid either agreeing or disagreeing to the statement. Thankfully, Shiro didn't notice how that last phrase made him freeze up a bit as he continued on with the conversation.

"How about that Lance guy, hmm?"

"Oh so this was just a build up for you to try to pawn me off to that guy, huh?"

"No! No, not like that. I mean, he's a good start as a friend isn't he?"

Keith scrunched up his nose as if just the thought disgusted him. "No freakin' way. That dude _hates_ me."

"What?" Shiro looked at Keith with mild astonishment and curiosity mixed together. "You never said that yesterday."

"I didn't wanna be rude to his sister," Keith said.

"So why does he hate you exactly?" Shiro asked as they turned the corner to look at more restaurants and diners. It was a cool night and everyone but Keith was wearing a coat.

"I don't even know. He just started picking on me out of nowhere."

"Huh. Well that isn't very nice."

"Meh. It's only annoying at most."

"Oh here! That's the place!" Shiro points to a little hole-in-the-wall diner of sorts with just a door and a sign saying _Voltron_.

"Uh, are you sure that's a safe place, Shiro. It looks a bit sketchy."

"No, no. It's fine. I know the owner. I met him at the grocery store last Saturday and he seemed nice." Keith disbelievingly shook his head at Shiro. Shiro only blankly smiled at Keith. And before Keith could stop him, Shiro opened the door inside the suspicious looking establishment. Keith braced himself for some reason.

Once they were fully inside the room, they saw a lounge with booths and tables and a stage in front. There was also a bar on the left side of the room. There weren't too many people probably because of it's sketchy appearance outside but there were just enough people to keep the place buzzing and alive.

"Oh look! That's the owner!"

Keith looked over at where Shiro was pointing and saw a jazz band playing _Lullaby of Birdland_. "The one playing the piano," Shiro said to help guide Keith's eyes. The guy had a distinctly orange hair ( _Is that genetically possible or did he dye it?_ Keith wondered.) and a thick mustache and chin-length hair. He was preoccupied with playing so Shiro didn't try to take his attention as they seated themselves at one of the booths.

The waitress soon came and handed them the menu. The two of them ordered their meals, listened amiably to the performance before their orders came and when the food came, they continued their conversation.

"So, you said he hated you. But you don't hate him?" Shiro asked before putting the slice of roast beef in his mouth. Keith looked at him and rolled his eyes.

"No. I don't. I don't have a reason to hate him. He's just another irritating part of living. Nothing new."

"Wow. How positive."

"That's me. Mr. positive."

The evening continued on without another conversation about Lance or whatever it was that happened yesterday. Keith and Shiro simply had good food, listened to great music, and enjoyed each other's company.

\---

It was Monday and Keith had classes with Lance, a.k.a. actually the mystery piano player, before lunch and all the classes after lunch. Truth be told, when Allura said the words "The name's Lance.", it didn't click in Keith's head at first. He thought it was like a weird flashback or something. Until finally, the words resonated in his head and it was too late to actually react which was to Keith's benefit.

He was, truthfully, a little disappointed to find out it was Lance. Actually, he can't quite match up the adorable hardworking mama's boy piano player with the cocky, loud, annoying, and confrontational Lance that he knows. Because of this weird little disjoint, Keith absentmindedly started observing Lance out of the corner of his eyes and sometimes outright staring at him.

He noticed that Lance, when given the prime opportunity, will almost always find a way to make a pick-up line about something. It certainly wasn't adorable or sweet. It was tacky and not even the least bit romantic.

Also, every time Lance would make eye contact with Keith, Lance would frown immediately at him and Lance would be elbowed by Hunk and Hunk would look apologetically at Keith. This most certainly can't be the person who made Keith relax and light with his voice and his piano playing all those days. All Lance made him feel was irritated and itching to fight.

But then, certain behaviors started to match up.

Keith, during lunch time, saw Lance drop a spoon off his table. Lance, upon noticing, mumbled, "Oh, sorry Spoon. C'mon let's get you cleaned up." And he wiped the spoon with a table napkin. No one else seemed to notice this but Keith. And Keith, for some reason, felt kind of betrayed.

_No way that's him._

That was how Keith spent the entire time he had class with Lance, by staring at him. And when Lance ever does something, anything at all, Keith would remark in his head: _No way that was HIM._

But then sometimes, someone would say something funny and Lance would turn around and laugh and Keith would get a flash of images: of white curtains flowing in the wind, of the sound of a piano being played floating in the air, and of the sun on Keith's face occasionally blocked by clouds passing by. It both soothed him then pissed him off.

Keith wonders whether Lance would go back to the room now that he finished playing the piece for his mother. _God, I hope not_.

\---

It was free arts period and Keith was debating whether or not to go to his previously private sanctuary. He looked around and saw that Lance was goofing around with Hunk again. Keith thought to stay this time but then he made slight eye contact with a teacher he just _knew_ would ask him to play and that made the decision for Keith to leave.

But first, he had to make sure that no certain irresponsible and nosy teachers were stalking him before he managed to leave the area safely.

\---

It was a few minutes before Keith, who was laying on the desks by the window with is eyes closed, heard a sound from the room to his right. Keith sighed. This time Keith had a plan of action. If Lance planned to come back to the other room, Keith would just tune out whatever was going on and sleep.

"Peppa! I'm still here!!" Lance yelled.

Well, there goes tuning him out.

"I don't really know why I'm here though. Maybe I should bring someone with me next time." Lance thinks out loud. "But this is my little private place. But I kinda want company. But the whole reason why I went here in the first place was because I didn't want people to see me. Hmm. Dilemma, dilemma."

Keith squeezed his eyes and tried to not listen to whatever stupid rambling Lance was on. He'd had enough of that during class hours already, he didn't want anymore during his spare time. Keith then hears Lance plucking a guitar, not really playing, more like trying to tune it. Lance was humming to himself and seemed to be preoccupied, the relative silence of which Keith thought he should take advantage of by trying to sleep.

Keith did not fall asleep but he did manage to get alone time in his head. He was thinking that he couldn't possibly put off playing the piano for this long. Eventually, Shiro was sure to notice that he hadn't been playing in his spare time. There was a local competition coming up, too. And Keith _really_ didn't want to join. He just didn't have enough passion for it. Keith exhaled the tension through his breath. _No. Let's not try to think up of things to worry about. This is the time to relax. Relax, relax, relax, rela--_

"There! All tuned up." Lance exclaimed after the silence.

Keith still had his eyes closed and was still chanting the word 'relax' in his head. It seemed that the only time his mind was blissfully blank was if Lance was making some sort of noise. _Guess Lance's blank mind is both an air-borne disease and infectious_.

Keith opened his eyes in shame. He really should stop insulting Lance. It was a bad habit. He didn't really put venom in it most of the time but it's a habit Lance induced in him, to always be ready for an insult directed at Lance because Lance was also prepping for an insult towars Keith. If Shiro knew, he'd be disappointed. And that was at the top of the list that things Keith hates doing.

He hears Lance hesitantly pick at the guitar sings. It sounds like the beginning of a song. Keith closes his eyes again to listen closely. Then, to his surprise, Lance starts to sing. And sing well, for that matter. Sing too well for Keith's peace of mind.

The song was in Spanish and sounded sweet and soft and romantic. Words, again, that Keith wouldn't use to describe Lance but the song and Lance's voice was sweeping him along for a ride.

"Te amo además. Como nunca nadie jamás lo hará."

Keith sat up and was not feeling relaxed at all. He felt a little uncomfortable. The song sounded like a serenade and it felt like, to Keith, that he was the one being serenaded since as far as Keith knew, it was only the two of them around.

Every time Lance managed to sing a part of the song particularly sweetly, Keith's mind would just alarm with a _what the fuck was that_. Keith was feeling frustrated at finding this out about Lance. Who knew this kid had so much freakin' talent? Why did he spend his time, then, hanging around being taught how to play instruments he had no passion and, frankly, talent for when he had his voice?

The song reaches its frantic end until finally, the last words are sung quietly. Hovering in the air around both Lance and Keith.

"God damn," Keith says in exhalation.

\---

"Wha--! WHO'S THERE?" Lance jumps to his feet and almost drops the guitar. Lance looked around the room he was in and was sure that no one was with him. The sound seemed to come from the room opposite. "I heard you over there! Don't even pretend!"

No response.

Lance was starting to be nervous. He was sure that he heard someone say 'God damn' the moment he stopped playing. It was too quiet around him for it to be something he could have possibly misheard.

"Oh my god, what if it was a ghost?" Lance whispered to himself. The moment he said those out loud, the hair around his body started raising. Lance was sure he didn't quite believe in the whole ghost thing plus it was too sunny and beautiful for a mean ghost to be around. Lance was really starting to scare himself.

Before he could start running away, he heard someone clear their throat from the room to his left, "Uhm. I'm sorry."

"Gee willikers, you're real. Hello. Are you a person?"

There was a moment of suspicious hesitation that made Lance's hair begin to stand on end before he heard a reply.

"Sorry. Yeah. Yeah, I'm a person."

Lance exhaled a sigh of relief. A person he can handle, a ghost he can most definitely not.

"Why are you eavesdropping? Has your mom never told you that it's rude? I'm coming over there."

"No! NO! Stay! Please! Don't come over!"

"Why? What dirty little secret are you hiding there, you bum?"

"I--Nothing. I'm just..." And Lance swore the next word that came out of whoever-this-was's mouth was said with extreme difficulty and begrudgingly. "...shy."

"Shy?"

"Yes."

"Shy."

"...Yes."

"Okay. Let's say I believe that for now. How long have you been there, you fiend?"

Lance could practically feel hesitation oozing out of the walls.

"And don't lie to me!" Lance added as a precautionary measure. "If you tell me the truth, I won't come over there."

He hears a muffled groan from the other side of the room before he heard the guy reply.

"I was here first before you came into that room."

"Are you saying this is my fault?"

"Wha--no. I'm just telling the truth like you asked."

"It sounds a lot like you're blaming me for catching you eavesdropping."

"I wasn't eavesdropping. You actually disturbed my quiet, you idiot."

"So much for being shy, huh?"

Lance hears a sigh from the other side of the wall.

"Look," says what's-his-face. "How 'bout we make a deal? Why don't we both go away and just never come back here? I leave first, then you go second."

"Why should I leave and never come back here? I've been hanging out here during this time since last, last week! _You_ should be the one leaving."

"What! You stubborn pin-head! I've been hanging out here since last _year_. _You_ should be the one leaving by your own standards. I was kind enough to offer the _both_ of us leaving but of course, you had to be a stubborn pain in the a--"

"Wait a minute. So you're telling me you've been hanging around here since last year."

"Yeah, you trespasser."

"So meaning for the past few months too?"

"Yeah."

"Meaning since recently too?"

"Uh..."

"You scoundrel!! You've been stalking me since last, last week! I'm coming over there this instant!"

Lance hears desks scrape on the floor from the other room as he stomped angrily over to the other room. "You're dishonorable! Don't you dare come in here!"

Lance ignored the outraged cry from the other room. Lance felt like he should be the one outraged not whoever this is. All this time, he thought he had been alone only to find out that there was some _perv_ perving on his me-time.

"Knock, knock, perv. I'm a-coming." Lance slid open the door to his left and all he saw was an empty room with the sun setting outside one of the windows opened.

_The bastard...did he just...jump out the window?_

Lance ran towards the open window and looked down. There was no sign of anyone anywhere but Lance was sure that there was no other way for anyone to have left. _Unless it was a ghost_.

Well, if ghosts were like this then Lance probably would have an easier time dealing with them. But he was pretty sure it was someone. In fact, it felt like it was someone familiar. The only reason that the person would have for not wanting Lance to see who they are is because... _I probably knew them._

"Damn, Lance. You're a bona fide detective and genius, aren't you?" Lance said while nodding to himself. There were no things left behind that could give Lance any clues as to the identity of the person, but Lance wasn't too worried. He'll find that little rat. He was sure of it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Keith should stop getting caught, forreal.
> 
> Next Chapter:  
> Making friends.
> 
> FEATURED MUSIC:  
> Te Amo y Más from The Book of Life: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gytVUP_LuRw


End file.
